In a joint effort with IT, Clarion Partners developed a custom in-house system, BARS (Bank Account Request System), to streamline account opening, track account information and centralize documentation. The system has transformed their treasury operations, reducing risks and improving efficiency.

The AFP Treasury Case Study series is designed to help you build up key treasury capabilities and skills by sharing examples of how leading practitioners have tackled challenges in their work and the lessons learned.

This case study is based on Clarion Partners’ Pinnacle Award entry. Clarion Partners was a finalist in the AFP 2024 Pinnacle Awards.

Insight: Developing a single centralized system to facilitate and track bank accounts can address many of the pain points of managing a large volume of accounts.

Background

Clarion Partners is a commercial real estate investment advisor with over 1,300 properties across the U.S. and Europe and $75 billion in assets under management. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in New York City, the firm manages a broad portfolio that includes office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties. The company focuses on acquiring, developing and managing real estate assets, with the aim of generating value for institutional clients, such as pension funds, endowments and other investors.

Challenge

Clarion Partners’ commercial real estate (CRE) portfolio requires extensive bank account management across its properties. The treasury team manages more than 1,300 accounts — each serving multiple operational functions, including rent collection and expense disbursement — through multiple banking relationships. It processes 100-150 account openings and closures annually.

The sheer complexity and volume of bank accounts created significant operational and compliance challenges for the team. Depending on a property’s structure, a single account or multiple accounts may be necessary, and every account has to have appropriate fraud controls and complete documentation. The treasury team faced increasing risk exposure and operational inefficiency due to the lack of a centralized system to track accounts across banking partners, monitor fraud protection status and store account documentation.

Approach

In a joint effort with Clarion’s IT department, the treasury team created and built an in-house bank account management platform called BARS (Bank Account Request System).

The collaboration between these two teams began when treasury approached IT with the concept of creating an interactive online web form that could be used to generate a printed document. The idea was to also have the details of the form feed into the company’s existing SharePoint database, which was built a year earlier with IT.

Through numerous brainstorming sessions, a prototype began to take shape. Treasury provided IT with specifications for the form and discussed how a workflow could be built using SharePoint.

Using Visio, treasury created a workflow diagram with swim lanes to show how the process would flow between various stakeholders. The team also defined roles and responsibilities for each user.

The proposed solution was then presented to the CFO and other key stakeholders for sponsorship to build the new system. Once they got buy-in, IT used software to generate a technical diagram of the system and the workflow, and treasury reviewed the specifications and provided feedback. From there, IT built the prototype, and treasury worked with IT on testing.

Once the final product was ready, treasury rolled out training to the finance organization to demonstrate the new system. The resulting comprehensive solution streamlined the entire account lifecycle — from initial request through documentation retention.

BARS’ architecture combines a customized front-end request interface with a robust back-end database, accommodating multiple banking relationships through:

• Dynamic form generation tailored to each bank's specific requirements
• Bank-specific product naming conventions and workflow integration
• Integrated KYC and OFAC compliance questionnaires
• Multi-step approval workflow with tracking capabilities
• Centralized document repository for account documentation, including KYC materials and signature cards

When all the information is integrated, a controller, serving as an authorized signer, attaches a signed form. BARS is then triggered to send an automated email to bank relationship contacts that contains all the required documentation, including the signed form, to open a new account.

Because the solution was built on a new Microsoft platform, it has the ability to be modified as needed, whether due to bank requirements or changes in the firm, and the technology won’t become outdated quickly. Clarion Partners envisions that the solution will be scalable across divisions and banking relationships.

Outcome

BARS transformed Clarion Partners’ treasury operations by mitigating risk, improving operational efficiency and quality, expanding the role of treasury and optimizing compliance. Overall, the solution is estimated to have provided at least a 50% decrease in time spent on the overall process.

Below are specific benefits treasury gained from the solution.

Risk Mitigation

• Reduced operational risk through the elimination of paper-based processes.
• Provided real-time visibility into the status of account openings.
• Standardized processes eliminated manual errors in account setup and documentation.
• Automated controls ensured consistent application of KYC and OFAC requirements.
• Standardized approval workflows prevented process circumvention.

Operational Efficiency and Quality

• Reduced account opening time from weeks to days.
• Eliminated redundant data entry across multiple systems.
• Provided on-demand access to account documentation.
• Allowed for remote work capabilities without process disruption.
• Provided enhanced reporting capabilities.
• Simplified audit preparation with centralized documentation.
• Decreased staff time spent on manual processes.
• Automated email notifications replaced manual follow-ups.
• Standardized templates reduced time spent on form preparation.

Expand Role of Treasury

• Centralized data source of bank account information across the organization.
• Enabled data-driven decisions on bank account rationalization and fee analysis.
• Facilitated treasury's leadership in digital transformation initiatives.
• Strengthened treasury's partnership with IT, compliance and business units.
• Created a scalable framework for managing future property acquisitions or divestitures.

Optimize Compliance

• Completed audit trail of all account activities and approvals.
• Strengthened controls through automation and multi-level approvals.
• Created a single source of truth for account compliance data, enabling real-time status monitoring and reporting.